The Goblin Chronicles
by nothingnothingtralala
Summary: In which Mugwart, Scribe of the Labyrinth, attempts to chronicle the jumbled and chaotic history of the Goblin King, his beloved Queen, and their many subjects: extracts from the Goblin Scrolls, in no particular order.
1. Introduction

Once upon a time, deep in the Underground where the Fae folk dwell, there was a Labyrinth that was the kingdom of the Goblins.

It had stood lonely and forgotten for many years, for the Labyrinth had a fearsome reputation. It was rumoured that nightmares and insanity lurked in its shadowed depths, and that the goblin people were agents of chaos who could not be trusted. And so the Castle at its heart fell into disrepair, and the Labyrinth itself mourned the lack of a ruler to love and care for it.

Then, one never-to-be-forgotten day, a King came to the Castle, and the Labyrinth felt alive once more. He was an outcast, an exile, a sullen murderer; but the Labyrinth sees into the hearts of whomever it chooses, and it deemed him worthy of that most singular title: King of the Goblins.

He reigned for peace in centuries, carrying out duties long abandoned, hearkening to the wishes of the mortals and protecting their innocent babes from their cruelty. He grew, gradually, to love with a fierce and unwavering love the Labyrinth that had welcomed him, had soothed him and listened to him, and he formed it with his will into a mighty fortress against his enemies, though for him it was a wondrous home.

However, this state of things could not last forever. The King was just, but he was stern and cold; he brought peace, but not love to the kingdom. The scar in his heart had not healed and there was a bitterness, a _lack_ , in his magic. The King was lonely; and he ached, though he did not know why.

The Labyrinth was wiser. It knew that what the King needed above all was a Queen. It began to search for an equal for its ruler, someone who would reign in wisdom and love. Long it searched, both Above and Below, among the mortals and the Fae, but it could not find anyone. The King grew still lonelier, and the goblins were restless.

And then a young girl wished away her brother, and things were changed forever.

Never before had the King been faced with such a challenger. Never before had he and his rule been tested with such stubborn courage and firm belief. Never had anyone with such greatness of heart been seen in the goblin kingdom; and they all fell helplessly in love with her, Labyrinth, goblins, King, and all.

It was only after she had gone, leaving the Kingdom in ruins, that the King realised his mistake. She had been but a child, innocent and naïve, and she had not understood his offer. Bitter, heartbroken, humbled, he set himself to the task of repairing his kingdom. Yet her memory would not leave him, and with time he came to understand that perhaps things were better this way; he would give her time to mature, to come into her own, and then he would return to claim his willing prize. The Labyrinth was overjoyed when he reached this decision. Together, they waited for the day, some years later, when the mortal girl would be ready to take the crown. The goblins could have told him things would not have quite lived up to his expectations… but he was not in the habit of asking their advice.

The story of the courtship of Sarah Williams by Jareth, King of the Goblins — which was rather less straightforward than planned — can be found in the story titled _Goblin Spies and Unexpected Visitors_. It was a whole tumultuous year before Jareth could bring Sarah to the Underground as his bride; but when he did, there was rejoicing throughout the Labyrinthine kingdom.

They ruled together, King and Queen of the Goblins; one just and stern, the other loving and tender. The balance was kept, and the kingdom prospered in peace and happiness.

So begin the Goblin Chronicles, tales of the Labyrinth and its inhabitants. May the stars shine on you who read them.

— _Mugwart, Scribe of the Labyrinth_

* * *

 _A/N: Hello and welcome to The Goblin Chronicles!_

 _Many of you will be coming to this as a sequel, but for new readers I highly recommend checking out GSUV as mentioned above, to get an idea of the characters and storyline._

 _ **This is not going to be a cohesive plot.** My plan for this story is to write a collection of one-shots in the GSUV 'verse (that occasionally may extend to longer/multiple chapters) based on prompts from you, me, whatever inspires me, etc. They will not be in order and as a result may skip back and forth in time. I also hope to experiment with different styles and character voices, so some may be told from varying viewpoints. As a result of all this, there will be no regular updates scheduled. But if you want another chapter, all you have to do is provide an interesting prompt!_

 _Please note that I may not use all prompts, and I apologise if this is the case. This may be because I have too many, or simply because I can't think of a chapter to go with one. But every single one will be greatly appreciated, and I look forward to your ideas! These could include: a single word; a sentence; a poem; a song; a picture; a scene; an event. Go wild!_

 _As always, reviews are very much appreciated and I will do my best to reply to them if possible._

 _What's that thing I always say? Oh yes - love and glitter!_


	2. Peaches

_Hi guys! *waves*_

 _I'm sorry it's been so long between updates - I have been craaaaazy busy and also suffered from slight writer's block. I promise I'm working on chapters based on your prompts, but in the meantime have this little drabble._

 **Prompt: peach**

* * *

Sarah eats a peach exactly the same way every single time.

Careful, precise movements.

She always uses the same knife: a small silver one with a mother-of-pearl handle that was a present from Jareth himself and has rapidly become her favourite. She makes the first incision decisively and then will lift the fruit to her mouth, so that she can catch the drops of juice that run down her wrist.

Then she peels the skin off, no matter how long it takes. Piece by piece, using the flat of the silver blade, she removes it and lays it tidily on the side of her plate. Licking more juice from her fingers in the process.

Slow. Measured.

Even then she does not eat it straight away. The knife is used to cut tiny, delicate slices, and she eats them one at a time, examining them thoroughly in the process. At last all that is left is the pit, and this she lays in the very centre of the plate, before putting the knife beside it.

For Jareth, the entire process is maddening. When he eats a peach, he bites into it with abandon, greedily devouring the sweet flesh, and then reaches for another; he cannot understand how she can resist the temptation to eat it all at once. He watches her in half fascination, half frustration as she eats the tiny sliver and then cuts another one.

He knows that he is not allowed to protest, for after all her caution is his fault. It is because of his trickery, long ago, that she examines her peach with such care. And he knows better than to vent his exasperation to his Queen — though he has long since begun to wonder whether she knows of it, and whether this whole agonising procedure is more of a subtle mockery, designed to entice and tease him. If so, it is working. Every cell in his body tingles with suppressed desire and irritation simultaneously as she swallows the last bite and puts down the knife.

But there are rewards for patience. And when he sucks the last drops of sweet juice from her fingertips, and licks them from the white inside of her wrist, and tastes peaches on her parted lips, he has to admit that after all — it is worth it every time.

* * *

 _I will leave the follow-up to your wonderful imaginations._

 _We all have that one weird habit... When I eat strawberries I crush them with a spoon, then drink the juice, mixed with a spoonful of sugar. Yeah, I know, I'm insane. Try it though!_

~ _Love and glitter_


	3. Wedding (I)

_A/N: Hey guys!_

 _Oh my goodness, I've missed doing this!_

 _My life has been pretty hectic lately, as I mentioned before. Lots of planning and working (I'm in my final year of my degree) and so on and so forth... So writing is kind of on the back burner for now. Also, I'm working on the plot of a potential original novel, so I'm afraid my fanfic is suffering somewhat. Don't worry though, the bug has bitten me well and truly and it'll always be something I do in my spare time!_

 _The follow-up to this chapter may be a while coming, I'm afraid, but I felt it was mean to keep you waiting any longer for this one. :)_

* * *

It was the last day of August, and the entire Goblin Kingdom was in a terrible state. Tomorrow, at twelve noon (or thirteen noon, depending on how you looked at it) and with the greatest of pomp and splendour, Sarah Williams would finally be officially joined in holy matrimony to the King of the Goblins, and come into her Queenship. It was the biggest event that the Labyrinthians had seen for as long as they could remember.

It was also proving to be one of the most complicated days to plan since the King's five hundredth birthday, and that was saying something as that occasion had involved a new throne, five thousand dancing pixies, and a cake the size of a small mountain. (The smaller ballroom had been accidentally set on fire and had not been the same since.)

No one had ever seen the King under so much stress and no one had ever been quite so terrified of the Queen-to-be. She had marched around the castle like a small tornado and everyone — goblin, fae, and human alike — trembled when they heard her coming. To be fair to her, she'd had rather a lot on her mind. The guest list had been one of her toughest problems. Jareth, rather reasonably she'd had to admit, had explained that the wedding couldn't possibly be held anywhere but Underground, especially since it involved her coronation; if she held it Above, the High Court would be at best extremely suspicious about her motivations and this perhaps was not the ideal way to start her joint reign over the Labyrinth.

Sarah had reluctantly agreed and spent a hectic three days trying to decide whether she should invite mortal relatives and friends. For one thing, there was the fact that when she had finally told her father and stepmother the truth about Jareth and his nature, Karen had had a fit of hysterics and Robert had refused to do anything but stump around his garden with a pair of pliers, muttering to himself under his breath, for three days. Eventually both of them had come round — they had had to, given that there was no other explanation for Jareth's magic, which he had kindly demonstrated for them by turning Toby temporarily into a mongrel puppy — but they were still extremely wary of anything to do with "That Place" and Sarah couldn't blame them. The only part of her wedding planning she had so far been able to share with Karen was searching for the perfect dress, into which her stepmother had whole-heartedly thrown herself, relieved that it didn't involve anything magical. Quite apart from them, however, was the fact that they were the only people (except Toby, once more a boy — somewhat to his disappointment) who knew the truth about who Sarah was marrying and where she would be living. Everyone else had been told vague stories about some 'member of the nobility' who had happened to notice Sarah while she was at university and fallen deeply in love with her. Unfortunately this story would almost certainly not hold up under close scrutiny, particularly that of the eagle eyes of Sarah's many great-aunts and second cousins.

Jareth and his closest friend, Ythan, who had moved into the palace as full-time physician and advisor to the king now that the ban on fae living in the Labyrinth was lifted, had put their heads together and come up with an enchantment of which they were extremely proud. Working much as the original crystal ballroom spell, this would bewitch any mortals in such a way that though they found themselves in the midst of the strangest denizens of the Underground, they would only ever see what they expected to. Sarah had been endlessly grateful and work on the guest list had finally been able to begin.

Meanwhile, however, there had been other things to be sorted. Beth was — of course — the maid of honour and was, if possible, even more terrifying than Sarah as she bullied Jareth, Ythan, the goblins, and even delegates from the Court into doing exactly what she wanted them to do. The fact that she was barely an inch above five feet and had large, innocent blue eyes surrounded by golden curls in no way detracted from her scariness as she ensured that the wedding would be absolutely perfect. She herself had got married only five weeks ago, a quiet and beautiful affair that Sarah had helped plan, and had insisted on moving into the Labyrinth immediately afterwards so that she could be on hand to assist the Goblin Queen-to-be. Jareth had created an adorable little cottage in a particularly scenic part of the Labyrinth for Beth and Kalum, having been assured by both of them that they would much prefer this to living in the Castle itself.

But all the hectic planning, the stress, the drama, was behind them now, or so Sarah was happily musing to herself as she surveyed her wedding dress with a loving eye. It hung — a creamy, lacy, delicate concoction that was every bit the incarnation of her childhood dreams — in pride of place in the huge wardrobe leading into the room the castle had created for her. The dress had been made by a family friend, every stitch made tenderly by hand, which made it far more valuable to Sarah than if it had been 'magicked' up by Jareth or herself (not that her own skills were nearly good enough yet).

 _This time tomorrow,_ she added mentally, _I will be the Goblin Queen…_

It was not a new thought — in fact this thought had been recurring with increasing regularity of late, usually once every few minutes — but it was still one that dizzied Sarah. That she would be marrying Jareth tomorrow did not seem conceivable. Surely it must all be a dream, a wonderful, impossible dream, that this most ultimate of happinesses might belong to her…

Absently humming a tune that may or may not have been one Jareth had sung to her many, many years ago in a crystal ballroom, Sarah began to practice the waltz that she would dance with her new husband after the wedding. She already knew it by heart, but it would never do to miss even one step in front of the whole royal court. _One, two, three, one, two, three —_

"Might I have the pleasure of this dance?" The voice was low and amused, with an undertone of fondness that was reserved for Sarah alone. She shrieked and whirled round, caught in the act of dancing in her bare feet and favourite pink pyjamas.

"Jareth, you're supposed to knock!" With a gesture that by now was practised, she swung the wardrobe door closed without touching it. "You can't see the dress!"

"Forgive me," he said with a lopsided grin, pulling her towards him and wrapping his arms tightly round her waist as if he was afraid she'd move away if he loosened his grip for an instant. "But I couldn't leave my fiancée to dance alone."

Her cheeks flushed. "I was just making sure I know it properly! And that's the last time you can call me that, you know."

"I have been made aware of that fact, yes. I doubt that there is a single sentient being in the Underground who does _not_ know that there is to be a wedding tomorrow." He spoke wryly, and Sarah guessed that Beth had been nagging him about something again.

"What was it this time?" She laid her cheek on his silk-clad chest, listening to the strong beat of his heart and the vibrations of his voice as he spoke. Nothing calmed her down, even in the midst of crazy wedding planning, like being held by Jareth.

"My _hair_ ," he said in a tone that made her choke down sudden and irreverent laughter. "Beth thinks it's… unruly."

"Well, it is a bit," Sarah grinned, looking up at him and tweaking a golden strand. "I always assumed that was the look you were going for."

Jareth made a face. "It just grows like this! I don't know what else to do with it. I could cut it all off—"

"No!" The hair might be a little over-the-top, but that was Jareth. She couldn't imagine him with a short, sensible style. "If anything, it needs to be a little longer, and just a bit more even — that's all. More Howl and less, um, Wurzel Gummidge. I think I might be able to do it for you. I've been practicing hair on the goblins."

"I know," he said dryly. "I came across several of them playing 'Wapunzel' and swinging on Perkin's newly grown plait. I assumed it was your doing."

"Oh…" Guilt crept into her voice. "Sorry, I forgot to turn it back to normal. Did anything bad happen?"

"Oh no, there was a very soft landing beneath the window; I wouldn't worry about it too much. But I digress! About this dance, wife-to-be…" Sarah giggled as he swept her a bow and then held out his hand. "Will you practice it one last time before you become my Queen?"

"Of course, my King." She curtseyed as best as she could in her pyjama shorts and vest, and then gave a small "oh!" of surprise as he caught her round the waist and spun her round before beginning the waltz.

They danced, the King in his silk shirt and fine leather boots — his haughty, other-world features softened with love — and the girl with long dark hair and green eyes that shone with happiness, tiptoeing on her bare feet on the carpet.

* * *

 _P.S.: This chapter is especially meaningful to me right now, because guess what?_

 _Last December, about three hours before I turned twenty-two, I walked into my bedroom and found it transformed into a fairy bower..._

 _And my boyfriend proposed to me. :)_

 _Insanely happy and in love. But also, very very busy planning the wedding. I actually wrote most of this chapter before we got engaged, so I definitely underestimated how much planning is involved in this sort of thing. Ugh. Do not like. But, on the 18th of August, I will officially be a Mrs... EEEEEEEE!_

 _You lovely readers have always been so wonderful that I thought you'd like to share the excitement!_

 _As always - love and glitter to you all xxx_


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